South Africa tighten selection rules on overseas players

South Africa will only be able to select overseas players who have more than 30 international caps from July 1, in a policy aimed at protecting the domestic game.

The country has suffered a player drain in recent years as clubs in England, France and Japan provide lucrative alternatives for young South Africans.

The new ruling, which will be put in place after the three-match home series with France in June, will not apply in World Cup years.

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"We are sending a message to young players that if they wish to play for the Springboks, then they must remain in South Africa," said SA Rugby president Mark Alexander.

"But we have also retained flexibility for the coach to select exceptional players who may be based overseas provided they have a proven track record of 30 Tests for the Springboks.

"How to balance the need to select the strongest possible team against the challenges of having such a large number of players based overseas has been a subject of long debate in our game."

Players who would be affected include Saracens prop Vincent Koch and Ulster forward Marcell Coetzee.

Twelve of the Boks' 31-man squad for the 2015 World Cup were contracted to overseas clubs, while 40 players from South Africa's six Super Rugby teams signed contracts with teams outside of the country at the end of the 2016 competition.

New Zealand do not allow players playing outside the country to feature for the All Blacks, while Australia relaxed their zero-tolerance rule ahead of the World Cup in England 18 months ago.

Players with 60 or more caps are now able to represent the Wallabies, which enabled Michael Cheika to select the Toulon pair of Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell for the showpiece tournament.